


Scheme

by CrazyForCsiMiami



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crimes & Criminals, Mystery, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-04 12:51:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11555574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyForCsiMiami/pseuds/CrazyForCsiMiami
Summary: The team investigates when a body is found with missing organs. The clock is ticking when one of them is put in danger.





	1. Ch1

Early one morning the team had just arrived to a location they had been called out to after receiving a report of a body being found.  
Eric had gotten out and walked over to where the body was, He stopped and stared when he noticed something unexpected.  
“Hey Eric what do you...” Calleigh went silent when she saw what had surprised Eric. “Wow.”  
Natalia came up from behind them. “Hey guys” She looked down “Woah.”  
All three exchanged looks of shock seeing such an unusual sight.  
A car pulled up from behind them, Natalia turned to look. “Alexx is here.”  
Alexx got out of the car seeing the looks on everyone’s faces. “What’s wrong you guys?”  
“You’ve got to get a load of this one Alexx.” Eric commented.  
Alexx came up beside him to see what Eric was talking about, she lowered her sunglasses opening her eyes wider. “There’s no organs in this body.”  
“This definitely a first.” Eric commented  
Alexx shook her head. “There’s not going to be a way to determine time of death at this point.” Alexx waved over the crew to collect and transport the body.  
Jesse got out of the hummer and ran up to join everybody. “Hey sorry I’m late, what did I miss?”  
“Organ less Body.” Calleigh told him.  
“What, that’s crazy!” He reacted.  
The team dispersed to start processing the scene.  
“Alexx what do we have?” Horatio asked.  
“Our victim is missing all organs so that’s most likely cause of death.” She explained.  
“Anything specific?” Horatio looked toward the body.  
Alexx continued examining, lifting the arms. “Just these marks look like this poor baby was restrained.”  
“I’ll try to see what more we can find once we get back Horatio.”  
“Ok thank you Alexx.”  
“I’ve got something.” Calleigh called out holding something up in the air.  
“What did you find?” Horatio came over to get a closer look.  
“Looks like a pack of business cards. There’s blood spatter on it.” She responded handing it to Him.  
“Ziggler’s Meat Market.” Horatio read off from the card.  
“Sounds like a lead, maybe involvement.” Natalia Acknowledged.  
“Let’s find the owner and have a talk with him.” Horatio put on his sunglasses and walked back to one of the hummers.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Ziggler’s Meat Market)  
“Mr. Ziggler we came to talk to you because one of your business cards was found at a crime scene this morning with blood on it.” Horatio explained.  
“Well not sure what that has to do with me, anyone could have had that card, we put one on each of our delivery packages.” Ziggler shrugged his shoulders.  
“Only problem is we found a complete stack, do you want to try to explain that?” Horatio questioned.  
Ziggler took a deep breath and lowered his head. “Ok look one of our delivery vans was stolen a few weeks ago, there’s often stacks left in each one.”  
“Did you report it?”  
“No but only because it was one of the oldest vehicles, we were getting ready to part with it and get a new one.” Ziggler answered.  
Horatio stood silent for a moment.  
“Look is there anything else? I really need to be getting back to work.” Ziggler begged.  
“Horatio looked back at him. “That will be all for now but stay close in case we need to contact you again.  
Natalia and Valera were working together in dna when Jesse came in.  
“What are you two working on?” Jesse asked crossing his arms.  
“Trying to find if we can salvage any dna or traces of anything on the victim’s clothing that could lead us to a suspect.” Natalia claimed.  
“Yeah it’s so weird under these circumstances that this might be the only way for us to tie anybody to the murder.” Valera added while swiping a Q-tip across the shirt.  
“Something tells me that whoever did this definitely was going to try hard to cover this up.” Jesse chimed in.  
“Hey have you guys gotten anything?” Calleigh enquired when she joined the conversation.  
“Only thing so far is confirming that the blood on the business cards was from the victim.” Natalia declared putting her hands down on the table.  
“Ok and Ryan and is down with Alexx taking a closer look to see if there’s anything else on the body that could help.” Calleigh mentioned.  
“I just have to wonder what’s behind this, so obviously, the victim was murdered but what would the reason be for missing organs, what is anyone who would’ve killed her want the organs for?”  
Everyone turned around when Horatio spoke up behind them.  
“It’s possible we are looking at a black-market scheme.” He suggested lifting his hands to his sides.  
“Is that actually a thing?” Jesse looked around for confirmation.  
“It’s unusual but not unheard of, difference being is the victims are not normally killed, normally they take away specific individual ones like a single kidney.” Calleigh recalled.  
“Yes, and Alexx was able to get a copy of previous medical records showing our victim to have been very healthy.” Horatio reported.  
“Which means if it is what you’re thinking then someone must have known and knew what kind of money they could get. Kind of a scary thought.” Natalia remarked  
Eric was filling out some paperwork at the front desk when the elevator dinged. He turned to see Kara coming out of it.  
“Hey where’ve you been?” He smiled.  
“I had a family matter to deal with but I’m here now and don’t worry Horatio called to fill me in.” She told him.  
“We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us today.” Eric responded.  
“Any leads?”  
“Maybe, Calleigh and I are going to go talk to the medical clinic that submitted the medical history to see what we can find out. Can you go tell her to meet me out front?”  
“You got it.” Kara rushed off to find Calleigh.  
(Miami Regional Clinic)  
“How can I help you?” The receptionist posed the usual question.  
“Yes, Miami Dade PD we are here to speak with whoever submitted records for a patient from this office that had been found murdered.” Calleigh requested.  
“That was me.” The receptionist informed.  
Calleigh looked at Eric before returning her eyes to the receptionist. “Ok then we would like to talk with you in private please.”  
“Of course, right this way.” The receptionist stood up pushing her chair back and motioning her hand to let them know to follow her.  
Once they entered an empty conference room Eric spoke up.  
“I don’t think we caught your name.”  
“I’m Juli Cramer.” The receptionist replied.  
“Miss Cramer, we would like to know if there is anyone outside the clinic that would somehow gain access to patient records.” Calleigh expressed keeping eye contact.  
Juli moved her eyes back and forth and shook her head slowly. “No not that I know of, unless…” She looked to the side.  
“Unless what?” Eric urged  
Juli turned her head back towards them. “Unless someone could hack into the online patient databases, that’s a more convenient way for people to look up test results, see their records or contact us without having to call.”  
“Now that I think about it, there was some unusual activity with a few of the accounts but I didn’t think much of it, I just e-mailed each one suggesting they change their passwords.”  
“Ok we are going to need you to get us a digital file so we can investigate this further.” Eric Proclaimed.  
Juli nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”  
“Thanks for coming to help me with this Dave.” Kara affirmed  
“No problem, thought this sounded interesting, so what are we looking at?”  
“Well when it comes to sites that are supposed to be more secure because of private information it’s typically set to recognize one or two certain regular devices used by the account holder so when a different device is used to attempt getting in its set to see that a possible security risk. Some sites will lock you out until its safely confirmed to be the user, others might send an e-mail to alert them of the activity but still allow the unregistered device access. “Kara explained  
“Ok so you want to see if we can find the unregistered device, right?”  
“Precisely” Kara confirmed.  
She started typing in some information on the keyboard and letting the database start scanning for a few minutes. Eventually in pinged in on a location.  
“Oh man, it’s an internet café that means it could have been anyone on one of those computers!” She put her head in her hands on the desk.  
“Not necessarily.” Dave stated.  
“What do you mean?” Kara looked at him.  
Places like that sometimes will have unique network cards in each of the pc’s which means if this one does we can put in the web address and that should give us a code.  
Dave began typing on the keyboard and shortly a set of numbers came up on the screen.  
“Got it!” He grabbed a notepad and wrote down what was on the screen and peeled it off handing it to Kara.  
“Take this and they should have a log of all the network cards.”  
“Did I ever tell you how Awesome you are?” She complimented  
He turned his head. “All the time.”  
“I mean it, thanks Dave!” Kara got up and went to find Horatio.


	2. Chapter 2

(Internet Café)   
“Hello, do you have a membership pass?” The Owner asked.   
“Mr. Vogel, we are Miami Dade PD, we’ve come to look at one of your computers that may have been used to illegally access a private database.” Horatio informed him while holding up the badge.   
“You’re going to have to bring a warrant first.” Vogel insisted.   
“Already done.” Horatio handed him the envelope, Vogel looked shocked as he opened it and quickly read the document inside.   
Kara set down the note on the desk in front of Vogel. “Here’s the code for the computer.”   
Vogel pointed across the room. “It’s that one.”   
Kara walked up behind the man who was currently using it. “Excuse me sir, Miami Dade PD were going to need you to find a different computer for now.” She showed her badge. The man looked her up and down.   
“Is this some kind of a joke?” He chuckled.   
“No, this a police investigation and I need you to vacate from this computer.” Kara repeated.   
“Yeah right you really think…” He was interrupted when Horatio approached.   
“She has asked you to step away, now beat it!” Horatio ordered.   
The man didn’t say another word. He slowly pushed the chair backwards across the floor before taking off in a hurry.   
Horatio watched for a moment to be sure he was gone and not going to cause any more trouble.   
Mr. Vogel came and scanned one of the cards to unlock the system and decided to stick around and watch.   
Kara pulled the chair closer to the computer then sat down and started typing vigorously.   
Vogel spoke up. “What are you doing?” He asked curiously   
“I’m resetting the time frame, if whoever was on here tried to erase the browsing history, this will get it back.” Kara explained. A loading bar went across the screen.   
Another window pooped up when it was finished. “There it is, Miami Regional.”   
Horatio looked up. “Mr. Vogel we are going to have to take this computer as evidence back to our crime lab.”   
“Whoa wait a minute I let you guys have your look around but you can’t just take our equipment!” Vogel snapped.   
“The warrant we showed you says we can do exactly that.” Kara smirked as she stood up. Horatio opened the kit beside him and opened one of the bigger evidence bags holding onto it while Kara put in the desktop screen.   
Vogel put a hand over his forehead. “When will we get it back?”   
“Once we finish our investigation.” Horatio answered, taking the screen while Kara lifted the box system.   
(The Lab)   
Eric pushed open the door to autopsy.   
“Hey Ryan, Alexx, have you two had any luck?”   
“I did find one thing in particular, there’s residue that suggests powdered gloves were used in handing the victim.” Ryan pointed out.   
“That does narrow things down a little bit since those types of gloves were banned in medical use but are also not supposed to be used in food service but not all companies abide by it.” Alexx replied.   
“Speaking of which, we might need to check again with that meat market, see what kind of gloves they have.” Eric suggested.   
“You want to head out with me?” Ryan proposed.   
“Actually, I’m still waiting to get some results back but I don’t think Jesse is busy if you want to grab him.” Eric Recommended.   
“Good idea.” Ryan pulled off his gloves and tossed them in the nearest trashcan on his way out the door.   
(Ziggler’s Meat Market.)   
“Mr. Ziggler aren’t you aware that these gloves violate a federal ban in food handling?” Jesse questioned while holding up the box.   
Ziggler hesitated and stayed quiet. Jesse looked at Ryan before raising his eyebrows and staring firmly at Ziggler and shook the box lightly.   
Ziggler relented. “Alright fine I know those gloves aren’t supposed to be used anymore but look when that ban was put into place we had just received such a big shipment to keep in stock for a while prior to it and I just couldn’t let it go to waste. We spend a ton on gloves every year.”   
“Did you guys seriously come here to make a big fuss about that?” Ziggler complained.   
“No, we came because the powder substance from those types of gloves were found on a murder victim’s body.” Ryan Interjected.   
“Look I told you people, one of our vans was stolen and along with the business cards gloves and some of our other daily use stuff could have been there.” Ziggler recalled.   
“Before you came into work today, where were you over the weekend?” Jesse asked.   
“I was at home. Last week was pretty intense so I just relaxed.” Ziggler Stated.   
“Can anyone confirm that?” Ryan Probed.   
“No, I live alone.” Ziggler finished.   
“Ok until we can confirm your whereabouts we are going to have to take you into custody.” Jesse told him.   
Ziggler opened his mouth surprised before and officer came in and lead him out.   
“What do you think?” Ryan looked at Jesse   
“I mean he is a prime suspect right now, the fact that he didn’t report the stolen van he could easily be using that story as a cover up.” Jesse Theorized.   
“Makes sense considering our only available evidence has lead us this way so far.” Ryan agreed.   
Ryan and Jesse both returned to the hummer while still discussing the details of the case completely unaware they were being watched.   
From across the street, on the passenger side, a camera was put out of the window and snapped a few pictures.   
He pulled it back inside and took out the memory card and stuck it into the laptop next to him, he tapped a few buttons on the keyboard and a website popped up: Miami Dade Police Department   
He tapped a few more keys and multiple files appeared on the screen each having a name under it.   
He pulled up the pictures he had taken only seconds ago, and compared it to one of the files: Jesse Cardoza  
He smiled at the driver beside him and both watched as the hummer was leaving until it could no longer be seen in the distance before driving off into the opposite direction.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(The Lab)   
Horatio placed a picture of the victim in front of Ziggler   
“Do you recognize her?”   
Ziggler nodded his head and lifted the picture in his hand. “That’s Breann, she is...was one of our home delivery recipients.”   
“When was the last time you saw, or spoke to her?” Horatio quizzed.   
Ziggler laid the picture back down. “A few days ago, we were having a bit of a disagreement, she was claiming her previous two deliveries were incomplete.”   
*FLASHBACK*   
“Breann that doesn’t make any sense, it says here everything was logged before it was brought to your house, you signed and didn’t notice a missing box at the time?”   
“I was on the phone when they came so I was a little distracted.” Breann mentioned   
“Then you should have brought it back here right away since all of those boxes are taped together.”   
“Whatever happened to the customer is, always right?!” Breann Taunted  
“You knew how to prove you were right and you didn’t, sorry no refund for those orders.”   
“Fine, I’ll just sue for false advertisement.” Breann threatened as she walked out of the office.   
*END FLASHBACK*   
“She wanted to sue, I bet that got under your skin.” Frank hinted.   
“It bothered me a little bit but I swear I didn’t do anything. that was really the last time I had seen her.”   
“The problem we have Mr. Ziggler is we have yet to find anything that doesn’t point back to you.” Horatio addressed   
“All because of the stolen van? I’m not saying anything else, I want a lawyer!” Ziggler demanded.   
“Until that happens you will remain in a holding cell, take him Frank.”


	3. Ch 3

“Miss Boa Vista have you gotten anything from the computer?” Horatio asked as he came in.   
“You’ve got good timing, I was just about to call you.” She turned the screen toward him.   
“Brad Cramer.” Horatio read the name.   
“Isn’t he the husband of the receptionist from the clinic?” Natalia observed.   
“Yes, and now he’s a suspect.” Horatio pulled his phone out putting it up to his ear.   
“Frank, I have someone else for you to bring in.”   
(Interrogation)   
“Mr. Cramer do you visit the internet café often?” Eric questioned.   
Brad pushed his shoulders up. “Sometimes for a little bit when our internet at home isn’t always the strongest.”   
“Mr. Cramer the reason we ask is because that Café was linked as the source for illegal activity accessing the database for the clinic your wife works at.” Calleigh Revealed.   
“Oh, um I don’t know anything about that, the café is a pretty busy place anyone could have been doing it.” Cramer Suggested while wringing his hands nervously.   
“Accept that your fingerprints were found on the exact computer it was pinpointed to and your network card was checked into the system during the time frame.” Eric objected.   
“One of the patients accounts that had been accessed was found dead this morning.” Calleigh stated.   
“Ok look I didn’t have anything to do with that.” Cramer Denied.   
“Then why the hacking?” Eric pushed.   
“It’s all because of a place called Ziggler’s meat market, my wife and I had been customers but after having their products a few times I started having problems, I informed the store owner but he told me it couldn’t be related, I’ve been trying to prove that there was a problem. My wife had mentioned a few people she knew were loyal customers there from the clinic and I’ve been trying to find others who had the same issues. That’s why I accessed the database.”   
“You were trying to see if anyone else had been getting sick like you?” Calleigh Replied.   
Cramer Nodded his head. “I figured if there were others, could generate a big lawsuit.”   
Calleigh put the photo of the victim in front of him and pointed to it. “You looked at her file, did you two ever talk?”   
“No but I did see her briefly at the market, it looked like she was arguing with the owner, I was going to try and start up a conversation but she left pretty abruptly.”   
“Are we done here?”   
“We are done but you aren’t going anywhere because you’re under arrest.” Calleigh informed.   
“Wait arrest?” Cramer spoke out.   
“Yes, like we said before, hacking is illegal and your facing a felony charge Mr. Cramer” Eric reminded him.   
An officer stepped up to place cuffs on his hands and take Cramer away.   
Calleigh turned towards Eric. “I think we’re going to need to pay his wife another visit.”   
(Juli Cramer’s home)   
“So, your telling me that the activity I saw this morning, that my husband was responsible?”   
“I’m afraid he was but we came to speak with you because your husband claimed that he wanted to build a case against Ziggler’s meat market because of illness he believes was caused by those products.”   
Juli shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense, we both loved the market, never had any complaints about it and because of how good it seemed we only purchase meat from there now.”   
“Your husband hasn’t been ill lately?” Eric asked.   
“No not at all, I just can’t believe he’s a part of this.” Juli assured.   
Calleigh and Eric stood up. “Thank you for your time Mrs. Cramer, we will be in touch if we need anything else.”   
Once they both made it back to the hummer Eric got out his phone and dialed.   
“H it’s me, turns out Cramer lied so what’s our next step?”   
“I have an idea, you to meet us at Breann’s house we’ll see if anything can be found there.” Horatio instructed.   
(Victim’s House)   
Horatio approached the front door, he slowly looked around, he took his sunglasses off once he noticed something.   
“We have a security camera here.” He pointed to it.   
Kara came up next to him and looked up. “It’s one of those Wi-Fi enabled cameras, I’m willing to bet there’s a computer inside with the feed stored on it.”   
Horatio reached out and pushed the handle. “It’s unlocked.”   
Everyone pulled out their weapons and positioned themselves.   
Horatio pushed the door open slowly and looked back before waving his hand forward.   
The team all went in and went in different directions to check each of the rooms.   
“Clear!” Horatio started.   
Natalia and Ryan came upstairs. “Clear down there.”   
“Clear up here.” Eric and Calleigh came back in the main living room.   
“Nothing out back.” Jesse declared.   
Horatio got down on one knee looking at the broken picture frame on the floor next to a side table that had been knocked over.   
“No signs of forced entry at the front door but looks like there was some kind of a struggle.” Jesse commented.   
“There’s another camera here.” Ryan noted.   
Kara brought in her kit. “There’s the computer” She pulled on a pair of gloves and turned the screen on, the live video feed from the outdoor camera was active.   
She tapped a few keys, a file appeared showing the camera feed history.   
She clicked on the date centering two days before the body was found.   
“Guys we may have something here.” Acknowledged. Everyone gathered around to look at the screen.   
On the video a man appeared at the front door holding a clipboard, he was seen entering the house after Breann had opened the door.   
Kara switched to the indoor feed. Breann was seen talking to the man before turning around about to enter the kitchen when the man lunged out and covered her mouth with a cloth. She was seen struggling to break free and while trying to hold on to her then man backed up and bumped into the side table and it fell over.   
“Can we zoom in please and get a look at the hat.” Horatio requested.   
Kara clicked it a few times to bring the image in closer.   
“That says Ziggler’s meat delivery.” Natalia noticed.   
“He used that to gain her trust to get inside the house.” Ryan indicated.   
“Now we know she was taken from here, but still don’t know by who, without a clear shot of this guy’s face and of course the owner would tell us the hat would have been in the stolen van.” Kara expressed.   
“Unless…” Horatio began.   
“What are you thinking H?” Eric asked him.   
“Let’s get a warrant for Ziggler’s clothing and test it to see if he happened to be messing with chloroform during the weekend.”   
(The Lab)   
“Horatio!” Frank called out.   
“Yes Frank?”   
“I got some bad news, Cramer’s lawyer showed up and he made bail.” Frank exclaimed   
Horatio sighed. “Ok, right now we have some new details and I’m waiting for a call from the judge to see if we can collect Ziggler’s clothing from the past few days.”   
“Anything pertinent?” Frank asked.  
“It turns out our victim Breann was taken from her house 2 days ago, and I want to know if Ziggler was involved.”   
“Ok anything you want me to do?”   
“Surveillance on Cramer please.” Horatio advised.   
“I’m on it.” Frank nodded and went on his way.   
Horatio’s phone rang, he pulled it out of his suit jacket.   
“Horatio Caine speaking, yes, it is, ok thank you your honor.” He put it away and saw Jesse walk by.  
“Jesse.”   
“Yeah H?”   
“The judge approved the warrant for the clothing if you could do me a favor and go pick it up, I would appreciate it.”   
“Yeah sure.”   
“Thank you.” Horatio put a hand on his side and walked away.   
Jesse was walking towards the elevator and saw Kara filling out paperwork at the reception desk.   
He walked over and put his hand over the sheet.   
Kara looked up.   
“Horatio got the warrant approved, I was going over to pick it up and get the clothing want to come with me?” Jesse invited.   
“Sure but…”   
Kara looked at Paula. “Don’t worry I’ll hold onto this for you.” Paula picked up the piece of paper and put it in a folder.   
“Thanks Paula, we shouldn’t be too long.” Jesse told her.  
(Ziggler’s House)   
Jesse and Kara were in the bedroom putting clothes into evidence bags when Kara spoke up.   
“So, if he is our kidnapper do you think we should check the rest of the house to make sure the chloroform isn’t stashed here?”   
“I’m not sure if he would risk keeping it here.” Jesse replied.   
Kara turned around and looked at the nightstand to see it had a drawer with a key lock on it.   
“Hmm wander what’s kept in there?” Kara pointed out  
Suddenly a noise was heard outside. “Did you hear that?” Kara asked.   
“Yeah.” Jesse pushed a hand back “Stay here.”   
“But Jesse…”   
“I’m just going to go check it out, stay here I’ll be right back.” He pulled out his gun and headed for the front door.   
Kara leaned her head sideways a bit trying to listen. She got closer to the doorway of the bedroom and heard a groaning noise.   
She pulled out her gun and suck over to the wall in the hallway. She slowly slid across it keeping her weapon positioned and keeping an eye on her surroundings. As she got closer to the front door she heard a car door slam.   
She gasped. “Jesse” She whispered under her breath. She ran down the steps and out the door just to see a van peeling out in a hurry.   
“Jesse!” She shouted.   
Kara looked down seeing his badge lying on the ground. She picked it up and looked back out. “Jesse….”


	4. Chapter 4

(Ziggler’s home)   
Horatio along with the rest of the team pulled up in front of the house.   
He noticed Kara sitting on the porch steps leaning her head against the railing and he stepped out of the hummer and surveyed the area for a moment.   
Getting closer to the steps he looked towards the hummer sitting in the driveway and saw the tires had all been slashed.   
Once he reached the staircase he sat down next to Kara. “Are you ok?”   
“Jesse’s not.” She stated looking up towards the sky and shaking her head.   
“Can you tell me what happened?” Horatio requested.   
She sighed. “We were just in the house collecting the clothing and suddenly we heard a noise out here. Jesse said he was just going to look to see what it was and told me to stay in the room. But I realized something was wrong and rushed out here. By then it was too late, I just saw a van speeding out of here.”   
“That explains the acceleration tire tracks here.” Ryan pointed out.   
Horatio nodded and looked down at the sunglasses in his hands.   
“I’m really sorry Horatio, I should have been right behind him.” she paused and looked towards the ground. “I let you down, I let Jesse down...”   
“Sweetheart you haven’t let anyone down, this was not your fault.” Horatio reassured.   
“I could have.... I should have done something, someone has Jesse because I didn’t back him up.” Kara pushed a hand through her hair.   
“Kara, if these people were able to overpower Jesse, it’s likely they would have taken you as well had they known you were here.” He explained.  
“Don’t worry Kara, we’ll get this figured out.” Eric stated.   
Frank pulled up and got out of his car and stood next to it, putting his arm over the door.   
“Ok here’s what I want you to do, Frank is going to take you back to the lab and I want you to wait for me there ok?”   
Kara pulled a small bag out of her pocket with Jesse’s badge inside. “I found this on the ground when I came out here.” She handed it to him.   
“Ok, go ahead.” Kara stood up and made her way to Frank’s car, he held the door open for her as she got in.   
Horatio watched them drive off.   
“I’ve got a print!” Calleigh announced and photographed the broken flower pot. She pulled out a print collector and placed it on one of the pieces and peeled it off.   
Eric walked over to look. “This must be the noise Kara and Jesse heard.”   
“Breaking the pot seems intentional as if they used it to draw Jesse out here but who would be targeting him?” Natalia noted.  
“This print should help point us to someone.” Calleigh affirmed.   
(The Lab)   
Calleigh saw Eric getting a scan on the shoe print and came in to check on his progress.   
“Is it coming along?” She asked him.   
“Just about, a few more times and it should give us a clear outline.” He pointed to the middle part of the screen. “There’s some kind of unique impression here.”   
Calleigh leaned down closer. “Yeah you’re right.”   
A few more swipes on the scan the results went up on the screen.   
“The impression is a big G” Calleigh said.   
“Hey guys, I heard you found a viable print.” Kara claimed.   
“We did and you know what? I know where this print is from.”   
“You do?” Calleigh and Kara echoed in unison.   
Eric thought back to the interrogation earlier he had looked down at Brad Cramer’s feet as the officer was pulling him away. The letter G appearing on the side of his shoes.  
“I’ll let Horatio know we need to get Cramer back in here.” Eric pulled out his phone.   
(Interrogation room)   
“Mr. Cramer finding out that you lied makes un very unhappy.” Horatio told him while looking away.   
“Lied? No why would I lie?” He chuckled.   
Ryan bent down at Brad’s feet and ripped his shoe off. “Wait what are you doing?!” Cramer questioned.   
Ryan took the shoe and showed the bottom sole to Horatio.   
Eric pushed the picture of the print in front of Brad. “You left your print outside of Ziggler’s house today.”   
“Oh that, look I just got angry about what I told you guys earlier so I went over there, didn’t see his car there so I pushed his plant over and then I left.” Brad claimed.   
Kara had been standing back with her arms crossed but couldn’t stay silent anymore she stepped forward. “Stop lying, where is my partner?!”   
“I don’t know what you’re talking about...” Brad Chided   
“You broke the pot to get him outside and you helped kidnap him, I want to know what you did with him!” Kara demanded.   
Brad leaned forward. “I don’t have to say anything without my lawyer here.” He smirked.   
Kara was angry but she stepped back to keep from doing anything she might regret.   
“Regardless, brad you won’t be bailing out this time.” Horatio informed.   
An officer came in and took Brad by the arm and pulled him out.   
Ryan went in to trace. “Hey Natalia have you gotten anything from Ziggler’s clothing?”  
“Results haven’t come though yet, what did Cramer say?”   
“He won’t talk. If only we had more to work with.” Ryan ran a hand over his face.   
“Horatio said he’ll be looking at the hummer, I don’t know if that will give us anything but maybe whatever was used to slice the tires.” She suggested.   
Ryan’s phone rang he pulled it up to see that Alexx was calling. “Yeah Alexx, ok I’ll be right down.”   
Natalia looked at him. “Alexx may have something.” He told her.   
(Autopsy)   
“What’d you find Alexx?”   
“I’ll show you.” Alexx lifted the body up to show the back of a shoulder blade.   
“see that? I just thought it was a blemish before but it changed and I realized this spot was a burn, but not just that, it’s freezer burn. Which means that this girl was likely kept in a freezer for a while before they dumped the body.” Alexx revealed.   
“So maybe this girl was killed and her organ removed someplace that has cold storage, right?” Ryan concluded.  
“Exactly!”   
“Thank you Alexx, that definitely helps!”   
(Holding Cell)  
“Mr. Ziggler I need you to be straightforward with me on this, you need to tell me where your meat is delivered from.” Horatio instructed.   
“I have multiple locations, I have one that’s on the pier, another is in the warehouse district and I also have a few private partners who package and deliver to the store but I don’t know where it comes from.” He confessed.   
Horatio pulled his phone out. “Frank I need multiple units to the warehouse district.” He pressed another button. “Eric, listen gather everyone up we need to head to the pier.”   
(Warehouse on the pier)   
“Miami Dade PD!” Horatio shouted as they rushed into the warehouse.   
A swarm of officers followed right behind the team.   
“Get down on the ground!” Various officers shouted as they moved throughout the building.   
Workers who all adorned the Ziggler’s meat market uniforms dropped to their knees placing hands behind their heads.   
“Clear!” Eric shouted.   
“All of the freezer units are clear.” Natalia declared.   
“Nothing on the south end.” Calleigh said.   
“Alright let’s clear out!” Horatio ordered he got his phone out to call Frank.   
“Frank anything on your end?” He sighed. “Ok keep me posted.”   
(The Lab)   
“Valera was there any trace on Jesse’s badge?” Kara asked.   
“Unfortunately, no sorry.” Valera answered and handed it back to Kara.   
“That’s ok, I appreciate you trying though.” Kara stared at the badge running her finger over it.   
“Are you ok?” Valera asked.   
“I’ll be fine, I just can’t help but feel guilty over what happened.” Kara confided.   
“Anyway, thank you I’m going to go see if I can assist Horatio with the hummer.” She placed the badge in her pocket and walked off feeling defeated.   
Horatio was examining the hummer closely, shining a flashlight on the wheels.   
Kara came through the corridor and watched for minute before approaching.   
“Anything I can help you with?” She inquired.   
“How about you look at this and tell me what you think.” He put his hand on the tire.   
Kara bent down. “It’s smooth, no jagged edges, pretty much a clean cut.” She described.   
“Mmhmm.” He responded.   
“The only time we’ve seen cuts like that have been from.... surgical equipment.” She observed.   
“We know that the equipment can’t be publicly purchased they have to have a specific buyer.” Horatio added.   
“That means our next step is to check with all the hospitals to see all their recent purchases, right?” She looked to him for confirmation.   
“Precisely, let’s get started.”


	5. Ch 5

Jesse began waking up, as his vision started to clear up he tried to reach his hand up to rub his face only to find out that he couldn’t.   
He tugged at both hands and lifted his head up slightly and saw his hands bound to the table he was laying on.   
Jesse turned his head sideways and noticed a board with a sheet clipped to it and blinked a few times seeing it had his medical history printed on it.   
He straightened up when the door at the front of the room opened, Jesse’s eyes widened when a man walked in wearing scrubs.   
The man got closer but remained silent, holding his hand over the side table with tools and reached out for the marker.   
He turned back and lifted Jesse’s shirt, pulled the lid off and started making a few outlines.   
Jesse couldn’t speak due to his mouth being covered with duct tape but he began struggling against the restraints.   
The man smirked. “You’ve got some valuable organs that will catch some quite beneficial amounts for us.”   
He returned the lid onto the marker setting it back down on the table before leaving the room again.   
(The Lab)   
Kara looked up from the screen she had been focusing on. “Ok I’ve made calls to all local hospitals and even some outside the vicinity, the one who had the most recent order for new surgical stuff was the county.”   
“That narrows it down, think we should pay them a visit?” Natalia asked.   
“It’s our best bet right now.” Kara answered.   
(County Hospital)   
“Yes, we got some shipments earlier this month.” The clerk stated.   
“Ok we are going to need to see where supplies are kept and if you guys keep track records of everything.” Natalia listed.   
“Of course, it’s just down the hall, right this way.” The clerk directed.   
She opened the door and pointed to a shelf containing multiple small black packs.   
“How many came in the previous delivery?” Natalia spoke.   
The clerk pulled down a clipboard hanging on the wall and read over the front page. “Says here about fifty sets.”   
Kara silently counted while pointing at each one individually and turned around to face the Clerk when she was finished.   
“Do you have it recorded that two have already been used?” Kara probed.   
The Clerk returned her eyes to the board. “Well no but this is a county hospital, sometimes things get missed sometimes.”   
“In that case, we will be speaking with all the surgeons here.” Natalia added.   
The Clerk huffed. “Ok I will go put out the memo.” She shook her head and walked out the door.   
“Dr. Kessler it’s our understanding that you performed two emergency bedside surgeries this month is that correct?” Kara questioned.   
“Yes, and once both patients were stabilized they were transferred to the other hospital.” He responded.   
“And you didn’t report the use of 2 new sets of tools because?” Natalia shook her head.   
“Oh uh...I must have just forgotten that’s all.” He said.   
Natalia crossed her arms. “That’s convenient.”   
“It’s a county hospital, things aren’t always perfect around here.” Dr. Kessler pointed out.   
“If that’s all then I need to get back to work.”   
“We’ll be in touch.” Kara assured.   
(Outside the Hospital)   
Kara was about to climb up into the Hummer when she heard a snapping noise and leaned her head back to see where it was coming from.   
She saw a man with a camera inside of a van and she realized it looked familiar.   
“Natalia, that’s the van!” She shouted  
“Are you sure?” Natalia looked out her window to see what Kara was talking about.   
Yes, the one used to take Jesse, come on we’ve got to catch them!” She pulled herself into the vehicle and Natalia flipped a switch to activate the sirens.   
The van tires squealed gaining a head start speeding away from the hospital.   
Kara grabbed the radio speaker. “Requesting assistance, we are in pursuit of a white cargo van, slight blue hue on the side and plate number 011FMB heading north on Biscayne.”   
The van stayed ahead making turns at every point possible trying to make a clean getaway.   
One of the suspects leaned out the window and started shooting.   
Natalia gripped the wheel tighter and starting swerving back and forth trying to avoid the shots flying towards them.   
A tanker gas truck started to come from the other way and Kara saw the suspect take aim.   
“Oh no.”   
Natalia looked towards Kara and turned back just in time to veer the hummer away from the impact as the truck exploded.   
A huge bell of black smoke and flames shot into the air.   
They pulled off to the shoulder and got out of the car and the van was out of sight.   
“This is Csi Boa Vista requesting Fire rescue on Flaggler, north of Biscayne.” Natalia and Kara both exchanged looks of disbelief over what had just happened as fire debris flew.   
(Later.)   
“Woah what happened?” Ryan reacted at seeing the truck fire as the flames were being put out by the fire department.   
“We spotted the van that was used to take Jesse and gave chase but unfortunately the truck got caught in the wrong place, our suspects got away.” Kara recalled.   
“Yeah it was bad, we just barely missed becoming toast ourselves.” Natalia exclaimed.   
“I’m glad your both okay.” He Finished.   
“Wish we could say the same for the truck driver.” Kara sighed.   
“Alexx what do we have?” Horatio asked as he approached the scene.   
“He probably didn’t see what was coming and died almost immediately.” Alexx examined. “Going to be tough to identify.”   
“Alexx what is that in his pocket?” Horatio observed and tilted his head.   
Alexx pulled out a piece of paper that had been left untouched by the flames and unfolded it. “Looks like a schedule.”   
“Let me see that.” He held his hand out as Alexx handed it to him.   
Horatio read over the list and compared it to the license plate. “It says here that this truck wasn’t supposed to be on any routes this week.”   
“What are you getting at?” She asked curiously.   
“I’m not sure yet but I’m going to find out.” He proclaimed.   
(Truck company)   
Horatio showed his badge. “Are you in charge here?”   
“Yeah that’s me. What can I do for you sir?” The manager asked.   
“I need to know who was the primary driver of this truck.” Horatio showed him a picture of the license plate.”   
“That would-be Jeff sethars but he’s on a temporary suspension right now.” The manager stated narrowing his eyes.   
“On the contrary, He was killed this afternoon from his truck exploding.” Horatio informed. “Why was he on suspension?”   
“He hadn’t been making his route destinations on time, we considered it and found that he had been out messing around instead of doing his job.”   
“Do the drivers hold on to the keys to their assigned trucks outside of their work hours?” Horatio continued.   
“They do but we confiscated Jeff’s when he was put on suspension.” The manager opened a drawer and shifted through it for a moment before looking back to Horatio.   
“His keys seem to be missing.” The manager claimed.   
“Security cameras?” Horatio brought up.   
The manager leaned his arms on the counter.” Not in here but our employees do have a card access for this room.”   
“So, if Jeff wanted those keys it was possible for him to come right in and get them.” Horatio guessed.   
“We didn’t take away his card so it is possible.” The manager confirmed nodding his head.   
“Ok that will be all for now.” Horatio lifted the picture off the counter and turned back heading out the door.   
(The Lab)   
“Eric, are you running the plate from the van?” Horatio queried.   
“Yeah, I’m not sure if it will give us anything if it comes up as stolen, how did it go at the truck company?”   
“It turns out that the truck driver’s name was Jeff Sethars and he was reportedly on suspension.”   
“You think he was tied to our suspects?” Eric proposed.   
“I don’t think of it being a coincidence that someone is obviously keeping tabs on us and Jeff was their backup plan if things went south.” Horatio reveled.   
“Ryan is going through some of the remains found in the truck maybe that will tell us more.” Eric indicated.   
“Ok keep me updated Eric.”  
“Mr. Wolfe, have you found anything?”   
“I think I have.” Ryan held up a small card. “The phone was mostly charred but it looks like the sims card survived.”   
Ryan handed it to Horatio, he held it up closer. “Ok I’m going to take this over to Dave, this could put us a step closer to finding Jesse.” 

Kara was in the break room trying to get a snack from the vending machine.   
A bag of chips came down from one of the shelves and she pushed her hand in to grab it, once the snack was retrieved she walked over and set the bag down on the table and lowered herself onto the couch. She ran her hands over her face feeling frustrated.   
“Kara, you got a minute?” Horatio requested.   
“Oh yeah of course.” She agreed.   
Horatio came and took a seat on the table just beside her.   
“Kara, I wanted to let you know that the truck driver I believe has a connection to the suspects from the van you saw and that he most likely wasn’t caught in a defenseless situation.” She lifted her head and made eye contact.  
“You know what’s weird Horatio?”   
“Hmm?” He listened.   
“When I noticed the van at the hospital, the guy on the passenger side, he had a camera pointed at us.” She paused.   
“I couldn’t really see his face, He was wearing a green baseball cap and sunglasses.” Kara described.   
“Did you both find out anything at the hospital?”   
“They were missing two cases from their last order, one of the surgeons said he used both and forgot to log it in.” she inhaled. “Horatio I’m really worried about Jesse, we still don’t know where he might be, what if our time is running out?”   
“The good news we have a piece of evidence from the cellphone of our truck driver that made it through the fire and may give us a lead. I also don’t think they’ve finished their intended purpose with Jesse, I don’t even think they are finished taking what they are looking for.” He explained.   
“You mean any of us could still be a target?” She asked.   
“I think we should have another talk with Cramer and find out.” He suggested.


	6. Ch 6

(Interrogation Room)  
Frank pushed Cramer down into the chair. “Sit down!”   
Cramer leaned back, “What, what is it now?” He looked around.   
“Don’t play dumb!” Frank ordered.   
“Look we already have confirmation from your wife that you weren’t sick from the meat products so you better start telling us the real reason you were messing with those private records!” Ryan asserted.   
“I already told you I don’t have to tell you anything.” Cramer argued.   
“We already have you for kidnapping so unless you want to add a murder charge I suggest you start talking...” Horatio mentioned.   
Cramer shook his head. “Alright fine so I did help kidnap your guy sometimes I assist with the physical stuff but mostly I was just the computer guy, they told me what to look for and I just accessed the files and sent them what they needed. “   
“Sent it to who?” Horatio asked.   
“I don’t know names, I was approached one day at the meat market and offered a lot of money if I just did what they wanted, Ziggler the owner provides stuff to trick people like the uniforms.” Cramer confessed.   
“Brad did you kidnap Breann? Horatio questioned with a deep stare.   
Brad hesitated and looked back and forth.   
“Brad!”   
“Ok yes I kidnapped her but I didn’t kill her!” Cramer disclosed and took a deep breath.   
“Very good Mr. Cramer, now where is my Csi?” Horatio tilted his head glaring at him.   
“I’m not sure, really I would never go with them to the destination, they would drop me off so I could get back to a computer.”   
“Ok, Frank let’s have a look at Brad’s cell phone.” Horatio insisted.   
Frank reached into Brad’s pocket and fished it out before handing it to Ryan.   
Ryan went through the phone for a moment looking through messages. “Someone sent him photos of Jesse.” He continued pressing his fingers and searching. “H look.” He held up the phone for Horatio to see.   
“Pointing a camera...” Horatio recalled what Kara had told him.   
“Brad, these pictures you receive are those the next targets they intend on kidnapping?”   
“If the medical records I send them are satisfactory then yeah.” Cramer confirmed. “But with me being here your guy was the last one I was able to get to.”   
“Is that so? Mr. Wolfe let’s see if he had his email on that phone.” Horatio added.   
“He does, last one was sent an hour ago, Horatio he already sent the records.” Ryan told him.   
“That’s it for now, Frank you can take him.”   
(Unknown Location)   
Jesse had been sleeping for a while but was startled awake when he heard someone coming into the room. It was the same guy he had seen earlier.   
The man in scrubs got closer but turned towards the board and clipped another page to it.   
“Don’t worry, when my partner gets back we will start the process.” He smirked before turning back and leaving the room.   
Jesse turned his head his eyes scanned the piece of paper that had been added.   
He gasped and began using all his strength in attempt to break loose from the straps keeping him confined to the table.   
Despite his struggling it only took some of his energy with no success. He laid his head back in defeat.   
(The Lab)   
“Ok Dave, status update, anything good come from the sim card?” Kara slid out the chair next to him and sat down.   
“Unfortunately, the only thing left was a call telling the truck driver which direction they were heading so he could put himself in the path.” He sighed. “Sorry I know everyone is getting tired of dead ends.”   
“That’s ok, I actually have a possible plan B that I’m going to run by Horatio and see what he thinks. If the evidence or our current suspects aren’t going to lead us anywhere, I say we take things into our own hands.” Kara vowed before taking off confidently.   
<>  
Horatio and Frank were having a conversation in the bull pen Kara waited patiently not wanting to interrupt but with the strong sense Horatio has she was noticed right off the bat.   
“Hey Kara.” He greeted   
“I have something I would like to talk to you about if that’s ok.” She asked.   
“Ok” He turned to Frank “We will pick this up later.”   
“Alright I’ll keep looking over this and get back with you later.” Frank answered and went back to his desk.   
“How about we go outside for a minute?” He recommended.   
Both went to the side of the building onto the staircase.   
“So, what’s on your mind?” He leaned on the railing holding his sunglasses.   
“I checked in with Dave the sim card was a dead end but I have a sort of plan B to help us find Jesse, now it’s a little farfetched and maybe a bit risky, I was thinking since whoever took him has been following us if we could somehow draw them out and we use one of those panic buttons with the gps tracker and one of us gets close enough, attach it to the van and hopefully they go back to wherever Jesse is being held.” Kara explained in detail and looked to Horatio unsure of what his reaction might be.   
“You know what? I think you are on to something there and it’s a worth a shot.” Horatio agreed.   
Kara put her hands on the railing. “Only problem is if we didn’t know beforehand that they’d be spying on us and I assume Natalia and I chasing after them might have spooked them off so how do we get them back on our tail?” She wondered.   
“I don’t think that will be a problem, remember what I said earlier?” He reminded her.   
“You said they might still be picking targets.” She thought about it for a second. “You spoke with Cramer, didn’t you?”   
“Mmhmm” He nodded. “If we are going to make this work we’ve got a lot to do, let’s go.”   
He reached out and held open the door.   
(The Park)   
“Is everybody ready?” Horatio spoke into his mic.   
“We are watching, no sign of the van yet.” Eric commented.   
“Ryan and I are in place.” Natalia said.   
Kara leaned over placing her hands on her knees and taking some slow deep breaths.   
“You ok Kara?” Horatio asked while watching from a distance.   
Kara stood up straight. “Yeah just a little nervous now that we are actually doing this.”   
“No worries, everything is going to be fine.” Horatio assured.   
“I see the vehicle, across the street but I think they might be deciding to get closer.” Natalia noticed.   
“Ok here goes nothing.” Kara bent down to tie her shoes.   
“They’re on the move.” Ryan stated watching the van move into the parking lot.   
“Both are exiting the vehicle.” Eric announced.   
Kara got up and headed towards the flowers trying to look distracted. “Ok when they get close enough to me make the move and get the tracker on that van.”   
While the men approached Kara, Eric moved towards the vehicle in question, He pulled the tracker out of his pocket and clear tape and slipped in on just under the bumper.   
He got up and moved away.   
“Good work Eric.” Horatio complimented. “Mr. Wolfe, you’re on.”   
Ryan speed walked from the other side of the trail. “Kara” He called just as one of the men was beginning to reach out.   
Both suspects moved away and rushed back towards the van.   
Horatio turned on the sirens from the hummer and shortly the van careened out of the park and down the road.   
Ryan and Kara high fived.   
The hummers were moved into the park so they could all collaborate and get ready for their next move.   
Horatio opened the back lid and everyone started pulling out bullet proof vests and checking to see that all weapons were in order.   
“Now we go rescue Jesse.”


	7. Chapter 7

The team waited patiently in the parking lot of the park watching the mobile computer in the back of one of the hummers waiting for the tracking dot to stop at a viable destination.   
Kara went around to the front and pulled open the passenger side door, she climbed up and got into the glove box, pulling out a holstered weapon. She bent over and clipped it to an extra band on her leg. Reaching in a second time she retrieved Jesse’s badge staring at it for a moment before placing it in her pocket.   
She got out, closed the door placing her hand out and leaning against it and bent her head towards the ground.   
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Calleigh who smiled. “He’s going to be ok.”   
Kara nodded. “I sure hope so...”   
“Guys they just made a stop.” Ryan announced loud enough for everybody to hear.   
Eric got closer and observed the map on the screen. “Isn’t that an old abandoned hospital across town?”   
“Yes, which makes it a perfect place for them to stash Jesse.” He slipped on the sunglasses. “Let’s go.”   
(Abandoned Hospital)   
The team arrived and promptly took notice of the size of the building including the setup.   
Ryan got out and put his hands on his sides. “This could end up like a maze.”   
“Yeah and who knows where exactly they have Jesse in there.” Natalia agreed.   
“We also don’t know how many we are up against.” Calleigh pointed out.   
“We’ll have to split up to cover more ground but listen I want everyone to be very careful don’t let your guard down for even a second.” Horatio warned.   
Everyone nodded their heads. “Ok fan out.” He instructed.   
Everybody went separate directions to find each entrance way into the building.   
Calleigh approached a set of the doors on one side. “This entrance has a chain lock but I’m going to try something. She positioned her gun and shot the middle of the lock and watched it break off and the chain slipped off the bar. “I got it.” She smiled.   
Natalia and Ryan were on the opposite side and came down a set of stairs where they found a single glass door.   
“Guess we have to do the same.” Ryan didn’t hesitate before quickly shooting out the glass so they could get in.   
“Guys keep a look out, if all of us are shooting then someone’s going to realize were here.” Eric suggested.   
Horatio handled the front doors that used to be electronically powered. He placed his hand into the small gap and manually pried it open.   
Kara found the back door. “The van is parked over here.” She grabbed the handle of the door and was surprised to find it unlocked.   
“Anyone find anything yet?” Horatio asked, he was looking around shining a flashlight.   
“Nothing yet.” Natalia answered.   
“Clear so far.” Calleigh spoke.   
“Other than the detreating condition of this building, I haven’t gotten anything significant.” Eric reported.   
Kara peered into a doorway that had a single cubicle inside the room. She narrowed her eyes and entered through.   
Coming around she stopped suddenly when she saw a hatch door on the ground right in front of her.   
“Woah, I might have stumbled upon something here guys, like a trap door or something.” She bent down taking a closer look.   
She grabbed the handle and lifted the metal lid.   
Kara got down on her knees and lowered her head into the opening before looking around.   
She gasped. “Jesse!” Kara pulled herself back up and put her gun back in place before sitting down to jump into the room just below. “I found him!”   
“We’ll be right there.” Horatio responded.   
“Mmmm” Jesse mumbled through the tape. Kara rushed to his side and peeled it off his mouth.   
“Jesse you’re ok!” She exclaimed while trying to loosen the straps.   
Once his right hand was free he reached up and helped take off the remaining restraints.   
Kara saw the markings under his shirt. “Jesse, did they hurt you?” She asked looking concerned.   
Jesse sat up. “No not yet, I’m ok don’t worry” He reassured and got off the table. “We need to get out of here.”   
“Oh, hang on I brought you something.” Kara reached down and released the holster from her leg. “Your backup.” She handed it to Jesse and reached into her pocket and placed it into his hand.   
“You found my badge?” Jesse asked with relief in his voice.   
“Welcome back Partner.” Kara stated and smiled.   
Jesse placed his badge on and clipped his gun back on his waist. He bent down to her level placing both hands on her shoulders, He smiled back before they both hugged.   
Jesse turned towards the board next to the table and pulled the paper off and started shredding it into many pieces then tossed it onto the ground.   
“Think we could use those doors?” Kara asked.   
“I wouldn’t risk it, let’s go back the way you came.” Jesse recommended.   
Both went back to the opening up above and stared at it.   
Jesse reached up and started feeling around before finding a spot he could get a good grip on. He pulled himself up and continued pushing up on his arms until he could climb up.   
Once he had gotten out he reached back down inside. “Grab my hands.” He told her.   
Kara stretched her arms out and joined her hands with his. Suddenly the double doors slammed open.   
“Get her!” The man in scrubs demanded to the other men beside him. The men sprinted into the room.   
Jesse began pulling her up towards him, his palms sweaty caused him to lose his grip on one of her hands. He tugged harder.   
One of the men got close enough and grabbed a hold of Kara’s leg. “Jesse!” She pleaded.   
“I’ve got you!” Jesse reached down further and got her other hand back.   
The man yanked hard trying to pull her back down. “Ow, let go of me!” Kara shouted and started kicking back in defense.   
Horatio made it up and saw Jesse struggling. “Jesse.” He called out.   
“Horatio, I need your help!”   
With his assistance, Jesse could give a harder tug causing the other man below to let go of Kara.   
Jesse pulled her closer and Horatio helped finish pull her all the way out.   
Jesse leaned back taking a quick breather. “You ok Jesse?” Horatio checked.   
“I’m good.” He answered before finally standing up.   
“Is everyone ok? This place is easy to get lost in.” Natalia was heard over the ear coms.   
“Is Jesse all right?” Calleigh questioned.   
“Yeah, but those creeps know were here, watch your backs.” Kara reminded everyone.   
“This way.” Horatio motioned for them to follow.   
Horatio looked out into the hallway making sure it was clear before continuing.   
“There’s the stairway.” Jesse Noticed.   
Horatio led the way, the three of them headed downstairs.   
Calleigh made her way through a hallway when the man in scrubs ran through the entryway.   
“Miami Dade PD!” Calleigh pointed her weapon.   
The man stopped and put his hands up and slowly turned around to face her.   
“Hands on your head, turn and face that way and come back towards me.” Calleigh ordered.   
The man chuckled and shook his head. “Do it now!” Calleigh told him unaware that another guy was coming up behind her.   
Just as he was about to try to attack Calleigh, Eric rushed in.   
“Miami Dade PD don’t do it!” Eric shouted.   
Calleigh glanced over her shoulder then looked back to see the man in scrubs trying to advance towards her.   
“Not another step!” Calleigh prepared to take a shot, the man in scrubs heard the click and spoke up.   
“Alright alright!” He dropped to his knees and moved his hands over his head.   
Calleigh kept her gun positioned as she moved behind him and cuffed his hands.   
“Same with you, get down now!” Eric demanded to the other man.   
He sighed before following the order and surrendered.   
“Eric?” Horatio named over the ear com.   
“We got it H.” Eric pulled the man up after he was cuffed, He and Calleigh took them back to the doors leading outside.   
“That should leave one more guy left to find.” Ryan said.   
Natalia heard something behind them and turned to see the last suspect taking off running.   
“There he is!” Natalia pointed, both took off after him. “Miami Dade PD stop where you are!”   
The suspect continued running going through different doorways. Ryan and Natalia tried to keep up.   
Ryan saw the stairway entrance up ahead. “Horatio He’s coming your way!”   
Horatio opened the door just as the guy was coming that way and jabbed the man with his arm knocking him to the ground.   
Ryan and Natalia caught up, Ryan got down and roughly pushed the guy over to cuff him before pulling him up off the ground.   
Horatio got into the man’s face. “You’re under arrest!”   
The man only stared in silence.   
Ryan pushed him forward by his shoulder.   
Jesse looked around. “Are you sure that’s it? when I was taken there was one other guy but I didn’t see him again after that.”   
“Yes, conveniently enough he left his print at the scene and we took him into custody.” Horatio told him.   
He sighed. “Good, now let’s get out of here, quite frankly I’m tired of this place.


	8. CH 8

(County Hospital)   
The lead surgeon was on his way to leave after just finishing up his shift, He walked next to an elevator and pressed his fingers against the down arrow button that lit up upon contact.   
He looked up and watched the lights travel across the numbers as the elevator descended towards his floor.   
The silver doors slid open, lowering his head eyes widened when Natalia was standing in front of him with her hand firmly gripping her weapon in the holster.   
She took one step forward, the surgeon backed up and ran off pushing a nurse out of his way.   
Natalia followed after him. “Miami Dade PD, you need to stop!”   
The foot chase continued as he made his way through the hallways, just narrowly avoiding collisions with people passing by and gurneys being brought in.   
He made it to the stairwell entrance throwing the door open and rushing down the steps.   
Natalia did her best to keep up, watching him heading downstairs she hopped on to the hand rails backwards and slid down each one to get there faster.   
Dr. Kessler made it to the bottom and picked up the pace when he saw the front door entrance leading outside.   
Instead of finding freedom outside the door he was meet with a gun in his face.   
“Not another step.” Horatio warned.   
He sighed disappointed with how close he had been to making a getaway. Natalia caught up and grabbed his arms pulling them back and slapping the cuffs on his wrists.   
(The Lab)   
“So, Dr. Kessler you thought being with a county hospital meant that missing surgical equipment would be left unnoticed but we have multiple confessions confirming you as the supplier for an organ back market.” Horatio explained.   
Kessler shook his head. “As a surgeon, I should have been making so much more, only position I could get was with county, getting stiffed, the black market it was just such easy money giving me the funds I deserved.”   
“I hope it was worth it, where you’re going, you won’t even have that anymore.” Horatio nodded his head for an officer to come in and take Kessler away, another brought in Ziggler.   
He slowly lowered himself into the chair. “So, did you guys figure things out, find the missing van?”   
“We did.” Horatio turned towards him and laid a picture down on the table.   
Ziggler stared at it. “Mr. Cramer? I don’t understand.”   
“You see Mr. Ziggler, Brad claims that you played a part, providing him with a uniform so he could kidnap Breann.”   
“That’s a lie! I told you guys everything he would have needed would be in the van which it sounds like he’s the one who stole it.” Ziggler claimed loudly.   
“There’s a problem with your claim you seem to have forgotten about the security camera placed in your office, we’ve seen the footage that shows you making the trade, it looks like Brad had been offering part of his cut to you.” Horatio told him.   
Jesse and Kara stood behind the mirror watching the interrogation.   
“Wow, it’s weird how multiple people were involved behind the scenes and all just for the motivation of money, throwing away what they had.” Jesse crossed his arms.   
“And a girl had to lose her life because of it, I’m glad we didn’t lose you Jesse.” Kara added.   
“Excuse me, are you Jesse and Kara?” A voice spoke from behind them.   
Jesse and Kara turned around to see a woman standing there. “Yes, that’s us, can we help you?”   
“Actually, you can I’m going to need to speak with both of you individually.” She answered.   
“Uh, I’m sorry but who are you exactly?” Jesse questioned giving her a confused look.   
She introduced herself. “Dianne Blaustein, I’m the new head of IAB, I have some questions regarding protocol from this case while both of you were out in the field.”   
Jesse and Kara looked at each other. “Ok give us a few minutes and we will meet you down there.”   
Dianne nodded before walking away.   
“Oh, my gosh she’s Rick in a woman’s body.” Kara stated.   
“The nightmare never ends.” Jesse said.   
“Protocol, she’s talking about you getting kidnapped while we were at Ziggler’s place, isn’t she?”   
“That would be my guess.” Jesse responded.   
“You think we’re in trouble?” Kara asked.   
“If she’s just like Rick she might try to twist it that way.”   
Horatio came out of the interrogation room. “Who was that?”   
“The new head of IAB.” Jesse told him.   
“I think we’re in trouble H, she’s like a copy of Stetler.” Kara expressed.   
“Sweetheart, I don’t want you to worry about that.” Horatio advised.   
“Kara, I wouldn’t change a thing, I would do it again if that meant you were safe.” Jesse reassured. Now let’s go get this over with.”   
(Later)   
“Mr. Cardoza so it’s my understanding that you and your partner had gone out to a suspect’s home for the purposes of an evidence collection warrant before you were kidnapped is that correct?”   
“And explain what took place just before your disappearance.” She instructed.   
“We heard a noise sounded like something had been broken outside, I told Kara to stay put, she resisted but I told her I would find out what caused the noise and then be back, Once I left the front door I felt something hit the back of my head and the rest is a blur...” Jesse explained.   
“So, you didn’t think that it would be a better idea to have your partner behind you which could have prevented what happened?” Dianne insisted.   
“No, it wasn’t a better idea, getting ambushed like that wouldn’t have ended well for either of us given the situation her safety was my priority.” Jesse leaned back in the chair.   
Dianne jotted down some notes and tapped the pen a few times.   
“I see, and I understand your concern but I can’t quite ignore both of you breaking protocol.”   
Jesse leaned forward. “Ok look I understand you are new here and really don’t know us but we are partners, we look out for each other, the whole team does and logically speaking in this case there isn’t any good reason for kidnappers to get their hands on her for the sake of protocol; I stand by that decision. “   
He turned his head to look out and smile towards Kara who was sitting in a seat waiting for her turn.   
“That will be all for now, you can send Kara in here on your way out.” Dianne instructed while continuing to fill out some paperwork.   
Jesse got up to leave, as he was walking by he reached his hand out to Kara who returned a high five in response before she darted out of the seat and went into the room.   
Dianne looked up. “Please have a seat.”   
Kara sat down and didn’t hesitate before speaking up.   
“I’m going to make a long story short, I don’t know if my actions or lack thereof could have prevented Jesse from being kidnapped but I did spend plenty of time guilting myself over it and I know that’s not good enough for you but that’s how things played out, if you need any more information feel free to read my report.” She didn’t wait for a response before sliding off the chair and dashing out of the room.   
Dianne’s mouth gaped open in surprise; She shook her head and finished writing down the information then closed the file. She pulled out her phone and put it to her ear.   
“Yes, I need to speak with Lieutenant Caine...” She requested.   
< >   
(Horatio’s Office)   
“Lieutenant thank you for taking some time to come speak with me.” Dianne acknowledged   
“What can I do for you?” He asked.   
“I needed to hear your thoughts on the actions from two of your investigators, I also noticed that Kara in particular didn’t seem very Keene on delivering her statement.” She addressed.   
“Well understandably speaking we just closed a tough case, and regarding Jesse and Kara I support their decisions, it’s a tough call to make in such a situation, bottom line they are both safe, we caught the killers and that is what matters right now.” Horatio affirmed.   
“So, you plan on letting this slide? IAB takes this very seriously.” Dianne pointed out.   
“With all due respect Ma’am I know exactly how they respond to things, regardless I stand behind my team; I recommend you don’t start to cross a line of suggesting forced unnecessary danger on them. Now if you’ll excuse me...” Horatio used that moment to end the conversation so he could move on to something else.   
<>  
(Outside)   
Horatio stood out in front of the building and watched the prison bus pulled up.   
Juli Cramer was further out and waited as officers came out the door, one of them leading her husband out in cuffs.   
It's like a storm  
That cuts a path  
It's breaks your will  
It feels like that  
You think you're lost  
But you’re not lost on your own  
You're not alone  
Just before stepping onto the bus Brad turned back to see his wife’s stare with tears slowly running down her face, she looked down avoiding his gaze.   
(Autopsy)   
Jesse stood silently looking towards the victim’s body, he lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck.   
Kara approached from behind and placed a hand on his back.  
I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
Jesse smiled back at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in gently for a hug.   
They finished the embrace, Jesse stepped forward and pushed the drawer back into place, he shut the door and slid the place card containing the name into the holder.   
If you can't cope  
I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fight  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let go  
(Outside)   
Juli Cramer turned around and noticed Horatio standing back, He tilted his head and gave a reassuring look.   
It hurts my heart  
To see you cry  
I know it's dark  
This part of life  
Oh it finds us all (finds us all)  
And we're too small  
To stop the rain  
Oh but when it rains  
Horatio extended out his arm inviting her closer, Juli came towards him and leaned her head onto his shoulder as tears continued to fall. Horatio placed his hand on the back of her head offering comfort.   
I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope  
I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fight  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let you fall  
<>  
Ryan and Natalia were collecting all the files from the case and putting them in a box.   
After everything was inside Natalia put the lid on top. Ryan took a marker and wrote SOLVED in the front and lifted it up placing it on a shelf in the evidence locker.   
Don't be afraid to fall  
I'm right here to catch you  
I won't let you down  
It won't get you down  
You're gonna make it  
Yeah I know you can make it  
(Locker Room)   
Eric finished pulling out his stuff as they were getting ready to leave for the day. He looked over and saw a glimpse of Calleigh’s smile. He went behind her and leaned forward wrapping his arms around her and leaning his head down to place a kiss on her cheek.   
'Cause I will stand by you  
I will help you through  
When you've done all you can do  
And you can't cope.   
Calleigh twisted around and placed her hands around his face pulling him in closer joining their lips together.   
And I will dry your eyes  
I will fight your fight  
I will hold you tight  
And I won't let go....  
< > < > < > < > <> < >   
THE END   
Music Lyrics: I Won't Let Go - Rascal Flatts


End file.
